1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to power control in a wireless device and, more particularly, to a system and method to control power consumption in receiver circuitry in a wireless device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, are typically battery-powered. As such, an important design criteria is the minimization of power consumption by the battery-powered wireless communication device.
In a circuit-switched communication network, a continuous communication link is established between the wireless communication device and the communication network for the duration of the phone call. The wireless communication device includes a transmitter and a receiver to provide the bi-directional communication link with the communication network. In the past, power control and power consumption reduction had focused on the transmitter within the wireless device. Because the transmitter power can be significant, these efforts are well-founded. When the user is not speaking, the wireless communication device can reduce its transmitting power to thereby conserve battery power.
Although a reduction in transmitter power provides a savings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other portions of circuitry within the wireless communication device consumes significant amounts of power. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method to control power consumption within the wireless communication device. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.